Just finished doing the audio commentaries for THE TWILIGHT ZONE — fifty-two episodes, one third of the entire series!

Marc & Richard Donner

One of the highlights (and there were many) was the commentary I recorded last week with Richard Donner, who directed “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” (as well as the LETHAL WEAPON movies, the Christopher Reeve SUPERMAN, and Bruce Willis’ 16 BLOCKS). Richard Matheson wrote the episode, which starred a pre-STAR TREK William Shatner as a man who spies a gremlin sabotaging the engine of the passenger plane he’s flying on.

The entire episode was shot on an actual full-size airplane suspended over a tank on a soundstage. There were no wild walls, nothing – just amazing practical effects with rain, smoke standing in for clouds, lightning, wind. Amazing. It was shot in just two (very long) days, because on day two of what was supposed to be a three-day shoot Donner was told by the producer that a feature at Metro needed it for the next day, so Donner just kept shooting till dawn.

What an honor to be able to share these memories with Richard Donner, who’s still sharp as a tack, charming and very funny.